I have a 2002 saturn sl1 that im gonna be taking the throttle body off of soon to give her a good cleaning and for some reason I am having a problem finding the right gasket for it. Been to 3 places so far including the saturn dealer and got 3 different gaskets that dont look like they will fit at all. Does anyone have a picture or a dealer part number of the right gasket. Thanx in advance for any help.

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I just removed and cleaned my throttle body this weekend. 99 SL2, 130k miles. I'm the original owner, and have never cleaned the throttle body (shame on me). My gasket looked great, I was careful in removing the throttle body, and was able to reuse the gasket.

I just removed and cleaned my throttle body this weekend. 99 SL2, 130k miles. I'm the original owner, and have never cleaned the throttle body (shame on me). My gasket looked great, I was careful in removing the throttle body, and was able to reuse the gasket.

I'm going to be the devil's advocate here. The first picture showed a coating of carbon on the throttle body. The second showed a clean throttle body. In reality, for the amount of debris shown, why bother cleaning the throttle body? Was there a problem? Did gas mileage improve? Did emissions go down? Did the engine run "better"? This seems to be a violation of the "If it works, don't fix it philosophy".

Steve

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I'm going to be the devil's advocate here. The first picture showed a coating of carbon on the throttle body. The second showed a clean throttle body. In reality, for the amount of debris shown, why bother cleaning the throttle body? Was there a problem? Did gas mileage improve? Did emissions go down? Did the engine run "better"? This seems to be a violation of the "If it works, don't fix it philosophy".

Steve

It was your basic before and after picture... I've had a very sticky throttle for about a year or two now. Through these forums, I learned that it was likely due to carbon buildup. After cleaning the throttle body, it no longer sticks, and has been very smooth. I haven't driven enough to tell if gas mileage went up, but it seems like it. Also, the car seems to accelerate a little faster. I cleaned it because I already had the air intake and battery out to replace the ECTS and figured why not? Not sure if it's related, but I was constantly being plagued by P0133 o2 sensor codes, which has not happened since then, granted it has only been 4 days.

"If it works, don't fix it" isn't always sound advice. If I can spend an hour and about $1 for cleaner to hopefully prevent a future problem (always at an inconvenient time), I think that's good advice.

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"If it works, don't fix it" isn't always sound advice. If I can spend an hour and about $1 for cleaner to hopefully prevent a future problem (always at an inconvenient time), I think that's good advice.

True dat

There's a reason it's called "preventative maintenance"

My shifter bushing works fine, but it's getting replaced in the next few weeks anyway. Third corollary to Murphy's says the bushing will break on the way home tonight

Fourth says that is someone picks up my old bushing and reuses it, it will turn out to be the one indestructible bushing Saturn made...

I'm going to be the devil's advocate here. The first picture showed a coating of carbon on the throttle body. The second showed a clean throttle body. In reality, for the amount of debris shown, why bother cleaning the throttle body? Was there a problem? Did gas mileage improve? Did emissions go down? Did the engine run "better"? This seems to be a violation of the "If it works, don't fix it philosophy".

Steve

It's simply maintenance on these cars. Not cleaning the throttlebody leads to a sticking throttle pedal and idle issues. It's a piece of cake to clean, and prevents headaches. So it's more of a "if it works, just wait and do nothing, and it'll give you issues later" kind of thing. And the idle issues a dirty tb can cause can cause fuel economy issues, so it's worthwhile in economic terms, too.

...SaturnSeries.net owner

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I will be another devils advocate. I have never removed my throttle body. Just cleaned it on the car. I have a silky smooth idle. It is a regular maintenance item. If I had problems with the idle air control valve then I would remove it. So, my recommendation is clean it without removing it. If that does not get the needed results, remove it and clean it.

I doubt any dealer or repair shop will remove it to clean it.

...Truth alone triumphs, not untruth.

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On my '02 DOHC, removing the throttle body to clean is easy, but annoying. Two of the four bolts require using a long socket extension, and the other two require a shorter one so you don't hit the underside of the hood. And all of it requires leaning over to the geometrically placed hardest to reach location in your engine bay.

On the plus side, the gasket on mine is a charming shade of neon orange and seems quite resillient. It's survived two or three cleaning jobs (that I can remember, anyway) without incident.

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I have never removed my throttle body. Just cleaned it on the car. I have a silky smooth idle. It is a regular maintenance item. If I had problems with the idle air control valve then I would remove it. So, my recommendation is clean it without removing it. If that does not get the needed results, remove it and clean it.

BTW, that is the recommendation of the legendary Wolfman as well...

...2002 SL2 Manual - new in November, 2001
Sticker: $13,995 As of 11/16/16: 216,511 Miles

2013 Mazda 3 HB - new in October 2012
Sticker: $20,850 As of 11/16/16: 28,556 Miles

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I've done a bunch of throttle body cleanings and always used the old gaskets without issues until this past weekend. When I reused the old gaskets on two this weekend both failed and with 3,000 + rpms you know you have a problem. You just never know.

I just removed and cleaned my throttle body this weekend. 99 SL2, 130k miles. I'm the original owner, and have never cleaned the throttle body (shame on me). My gasket looked great, I was careful in removing the throttle body, and was able to reuse the gasket.

I will be another devils advocate. I have never removed my throttle body. Just cleaned it on the car. I have a silky smooth idle. It is a regular maintenance item. If I had problems with the idle air control valve then I would remove it. So, my recommendation is clean it without removing it. If that does not get the needed results, remove it and clean it.

I doubt any dealer or repair shop will remove it to clean it.

that's what i also do. i just spray some carb cleaner down it & scrub around with a tooth brush. especially where the throttle valve opens & closes. that's where it sticks. then wait a little while while the spray cleaner evaporates then the car runs fine...

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